Friday, May 29, 2009
Aaron Memories...
I meant to post this yesterday but I got off on a different direction which I sometimes do. Anyway, I've been thinking about some of my favorite memories of Aaron and wanted to share a few.
First, Aaron has always wanted to be good in sports. His early childhood ambition was to be an NBA player like Kobe Bryant - prior to Kobe it was Michael Jordan. But as we all know there aren't many 5'11, 140 pound players in the NBA so I don't think we'll be seeing him play against LeBron James anytime soon. Still, Aaron always tried hard on the playing field. And he always had confidence - whenever he'd talk about one of his teams he'd start by saying, "Well, they have me!", which I'm sure was meant to imply that he was definitely a huge positive. I was fortunate enough to coach him football from the 3rd to 6th grade. Back then he was even smaller in proportion to the other kids but he never backed down. He played wingback and safety and he did a great job. He always did a great job blocking on our sweep plays and I remember one game when he made a diving, shoe string tackle at safety to save a touchdown in a game we won 8-6. He always tried so hard.
One of his first ventures into sports was in soccer. He really didn't like soccer. They always stuck him in positions he didn't like and I don't think he ever thought he was very good at it. When he was 8 (in 1998) he played on a pretty good team. He was not only the youngest but the smallest kid on the team. The coach was an English guy whose son was a pretty strong player but he was Judd's age, 18 months older than Aaron. I don't think the coach knew how to use Aaron so he made him a spy - a position that really didn't exist. Aaron's job was to shadow the best player on the other team and annoy the hell out of him. Aaron didn't like this role. He said the coach made up the position because he was a bad plyer and he hated playing it. At the same time, he was actually pretty good at it, at least I thought he was. I tried to convince him of this but of course, his mind was already made up and he thought I was obviously just trying to make him feel good. During that season, Julie's brother, Dan, died after a battle with lymphoma. We were supposed to go to Chicago to see Ohio State play football on my birthday but following Dan's death, I really didn't feel like making the trip. Instead, we attended Aaron's soccer game. As I recall it was a very close game which went right down to the wire. Late in the game Aaron was playing his customary spy position and he stole the ball, kicked it to the coaches son who put it in the goal to clinch the win. It was an awesome assist. Aaron was so excited; he ran over to the coach, jumped into his arms and the coach tossed him up into the air. It's an image of him that I'll never forget. And I remember turning to Julie and saying that I was so glad we didn't go to Chicago because I would have hated to have missed that moment - it was priceless. Of course after the game, Aaron played it off like it was no big deal but it was to me. I can still see him running across the field to jump into the coaches arm - it was just an awesome moment.
As I mentioned above, Aaron was a big Michael Jordan fan. We used to watch the NBA finals together and I would root for the Bulls along with him because I knew how happy it made him when they won. We went to Chicago one summer and all Aaron wanted to do was eat at Michael Jordan's resturant. We waited 2 hours to eat but he could have cared less. He went to the gift shop and bought a Michael Jordan gift box set of trading cards which totally mesmerized him. I remember him sitting there looking at each card as if it were made of gold, 'This is so-o-o-o-o-o sweet!", I recall him saying. The dinner he ordered was basically the equivalent of a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (equivalent except the price, which was $6) but he could have cared less, he ate at Michael Jordan's Restaurant.
Aaron's also always been very sensitive. I would see him doing something cute or funny and laugh at him and he'd get so mad because I think he thought I was making fun of him. But he was always so damn cute. One day he was going through the house singing 'Frosty the Snowman' like Jimmy Durante from the Christmas special. He was probably about 4 years old and it was so damn cute that I had to laugh. Well, he got so mad that I was laughing and to this day I don't think I've ever heard him sing Frosty the Snowman again.
Realizing his sensitivity, it amazed me when Aaron did the Napolean Dynamite dance at his 8th grade variety show. He was actually the star of the show, participating in several skits. As for the dance, he had every move down and to prove it was no fluke, he reprised the dance during his freshman orientation at Moeller as part of his first house competition. He nailed it. And it really surprised me because Aaron is usually pretty cautious about letting people see him do silly things - at least until you get to know him.
This year, he took part in Kairos and was very eager to talk about his experiences with at the welcome home program following the retreat. That somewhat surprised me as well but I was proud of the fact that he was eager to share with the other boys. That has to be a very difficult thing to do when you're not used to talking about your feelings. And of course, there was his senior lacrosse season. Aaron didn't play last year so when he decided to play this year, we weren't sure he would get much playing time and that was pretty much the case. His best friend on the team quit before the season started and Aaron actually asked if he could quit but we sad no, you finish what you start. He only missed one game and one practice and that was to go on a visit to St. Louis University. He stood on the sidelines most games and cheered and supported his teammates. He never complained and despite a pretty long season, he stuck it out. It had to be tough but he stuck it out. We're not going to be able to attend his banquet due to my bike ride so I guess I'll put it in writing here that he was my favorite player on the team and even though he didn't get to play much, I enjoyed every second I got to see him on the field and was proud of the way he cheered for his teammates.
Of course, for the last 5 or 6 years he's been known by just about everyone as Headly. This spawned from a long list of nicknames which basically originated due to the fact that he had a pretty big noggin when he was a little boy. The final nickname, Headly, comes from the movie Blazing Saddles when Harvey Korman corrects everyone about his name by saying, "It's Headly!' Anyway, I truly think there are some people who think his name actually is Headly. In his 8th grade yearbook they listed his name as 'Headly Hopkins'. And to his credit, Aaron has embraced the name. He'll call home and say, "It's Headly", or he'll sign his name on cards as Headly. In April he went over to St. Louis to visit the University on a bus with about 25 other potential Bilikens. On the registration it asked if there was a preferred nickname he'd like on his name tag. I asked if he wanted me to put Headly and he said, not really. so maybe he's ready to go back to being Aaron in college.
As I've said before, I'm not looking forward to Aaron leaving for school but I'm excited for him because its a new chapter in his life. I'm hoping we can make a few more wonderful memories before he heads off to St. Louis!
First, Aaron has always wanted to be good in sports. His early childhood ambition was to be an NBA player like Kobe Bryant - prior to Kobe it was Michael Jordan. But as we all know there aren't many 5'11, 140 pound players in the NBA so I don't think we'll be seeing him play against LeBron James anytime soon. Still, Aaron always tried hard on the playing field. And he always had confidence - whenever he'd talk about one of his teams he'd start by saying, "Well, they have me!", which I'm sure was meant to imply that he was definitely a huge positive. I was fortunate enough to coach him football from the 3rd to 6th grade. Back then he was even smaller in proportion to the other kids but he never backed down. He played wingback and safety and he did a great job. He always did a great job blocking on our sweep plays and I remember one game when he made a diving, shoe string tackle at safety to save a touchdown in a game we won 8-6. He always tried so hard.
One of his first ventures into sports was in soccer. He really didn't like soccer. They always stuck him in positions he didn't like and I don't think he ever thought he was very good at it. When he was 8 (in 1998) he played on a pretty good team. He was not only the youngest but the smallest kid on the team. The coach was an English guy whose son was a pretty strong player but he was Judd's age, 18 months older than Aaron. I don't think the coach knew how to use Aaron so he made him a spy - a position that really didn't exist. Aaron's job was to shadow the best player on the other team and annoy the hell out of him. Aaron didn't like this role. He said the coach made up the position because he was a bad plyer and he hated playing it. At the same time, he was actually pretty good at it, at least I thought he was. I tried to convince him of this but of course, his mind was already made up and he thought I was obviously just trying to make him feel good. During that season, Julie's brother, Dan, died after a battle with lymphoma. We were supposed to go to Chicago to see Ohio State play football on my birthday but following Dan's death, I really didn't feel like making the trip. Instead, we attended Aaron's soccer game. As I recall it was a very close game which went right down to the wire. Late in the game Aaron was playing his customary spy position and he stole the ball, kicked it to the coaches son who put it in the goal to clinch the win. It was an awesome assist. Aaron was so excited; he ran over to the coach, jumped into his arms and the coach tossed him up into the air. It's an image of him that I'll never forget. And I remember turning to Julie and saying that I was so glad we didn't go to Chicago because I would have hated to have missed that moment - it was priceless. Of course after the game, Aaron played it off like it was no big deal but it was to me. I can still see him running across the field to jump into the coaches arm - it was just an awesome moment.
As I mentioned above, Aaron was a big Michael Jordan fan. We used to watch the NBA finals together and I would root for the Bulls along with him because I knew how happy it made him when they won. We went to Chicago one summer and all Aaron wanted to do was eat at Michael Jordan's resturant. We waited 2 hours to eat but he could have cared less. He went to the gift shop and bought a Michael Jordan gift box set of trading cards which totally mesmerized him. I remember him sitting there looking at each card as if it were made of gold, 'This is so-o-o-o-o-o sweet!", I recall him saying. The dinner he ordered was basically the equivalent of a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (equivalent except the price, which was $6) but he could have cared less, he ate at Michael Jordan's Restaurant.
Aaron's also always been very sensitive. I would see him doing something cute or funny and laugh at him and he'd get so mad because I think he thought I was making fun of him. But he was always so damn cute. One day he was going through the house singing 'Frosty the Snowman' like Jimmy Durante from the Christmas special. He was probably about 4 years old and it was so damn cute that I had to laugh. Well, he got so mad that I was laughing and to this day I don't think I've ever heard him sing Frosty the Snowman again.
Realizing his sensitivity, it amazed me when Aaron did the Napolean Dynamite dance at his 8th grade variety show. He was actually the star of the show, participating in several skits. As for the dance, he had every move down and to prove it was no fluke, he reprised the dance during his freshman orientation at Moeller as part of his first house competition. He nailed it. And it really surprised me because Aaron is usually pretty cautious about letting people see him do silly things - at least until you get to know him.
This year, he took part in Kairos and was very eager to talk about his experiences with at the welcome home program following the retreat. That somewhat surprised me as well but I was proud of the fact that he was eager to share with the other boys. That has to be a very difficult thing to do when you're not used to talking about your feelings. And of course, there was his senior lacrosse season. Aaron didn't play last year so when he decided to play this year, we weren't sure he would get much playing time and that was pretty much the case. His best friend on the team quit before the season started and Aaron actually asked if he could quit but we sad no, you finish what you start. He only missed one game and one practice and that was to go on a visit to St. Louis University. He stood on the sidelines most games and cheered and supported his teammates. He never complained and despite a pretty long season, he stuck it out. It had to be tough but he stuck it out. We're not going to be able to attend his banquet due to my bike ride so I guess I'll put it in writing here that he was my favorite player on the team and even though he didn't get to play much, I enjoyed every second I got to see him on the field and was proud of the way he cheered for his teammates.
Of course, for the last 5 or 6 years he's been known by just about everyone as Headly. This spawned from a long list of nicknames which basically originated due to the fact that he had a pretty big noggin when he was a little boy. The final nickname, Headly, comes from the movie Blazing Saddles when Harvey Korman corrects everyone about his name by saying, "It's Headly!' Anyway, I truly think there are some people who think his name actually is Headly. In his 8th grade yearbook they listed his name as 'Headly Hopkins'. And to his credit, Aaron has embraced the name. He'll call home and say, "It's Headly", or he'll sign his name on cards as Headly. In April he went over to St. Louis to visit the University on a bus with about 25 other potential Bilikens. On the registration it asked if there was a preferred nickname he'd like on his name tag. I asked if he wanted me to put Headly and he said, not really. so maybe he's ready to go back to being Aaron in college.
As I've said before, I'm not looking forward to Aaron leaving for school but I'm excited for him because its a new chapter in his life. I'm hoping we can make a few more wonderful memories before he heads off to St. Louis!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Hopkins' Moeller Era Comes To An End...
Last night Aaron's lacrosse team was knocked out of the state tournament and with the loss, our 6 years of having a student at Archbishop Moeller High School has come to an end. Aaron graduated last Thursday but with the lacrosse season still going, there was still a feeling of connection; that all ended last night. Aaron is moving on, high school is in the rear view mirror and hopefully a renewed sense of commitment will acompany him to St. Louis University.
High school is a wierd time for kids. I know I look back on my years of high school and realize I really didn't learn much. I went to an urban high school in Dayton called Colonel White and the teachers there were happy if they could simply keep the students under control. It just wasn't a very good learning environment. I got good grades but I don't think it was because I was exceptionally smart - all you had to do was pay attention in class and you couldn't help but pass. I do know my high school years did little to prepare me for college - it took me the better part of my freshman year to figure things out. Today, I can honestly say I haven't seen a former class mate from CW in about 15 years. I simply lost touch. I've recently reconnected with a few old classmates via Face Book, of all places, but I doubt it will rekindle any old friendships as they mostly live in different states.
Julie, on the other hand, still considers a group of her high school classmates among her closest and dearest friends. They still together from time to time, they talk on the phone, they have girls' night out several times a year. They take the effort to stay in touch. My best friend in high school was a guy by the name of Darryl France. He was a funny guy, we were both on the football team, in the senior play together - his brother Doug (or Bubba) actually played football for Ohio State and made All Pro as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. Darryl went to play football for Wilmington College; as many of you know, I went to Ohio State. I remember hooking up with Darryl the summer between our freshman and sophomore years of college and I haven't seen him since - I couldn't even tell you where he lives.
But back to Moeller. I think Aaron could have had a better experience there. I think he stayed true to his grade school friends but didn't reach out to hang out with other kids, as a consequence he had a very small circle of friends. He decided not to play lacrosse his junior year and that left him with far to much extra time on his hands. And I think the thing that Moeller sells as a reason to attend the school actually turned out to be a negative for Aaron - the lap top program. Aaron was basically addicted to his lap top! The problem was, he used it for everything but his school work - videos, youtube, watching highlights of the Lakers, music - I think for some kids a lap top is a great, for Aaron it was a distraction. We were really glad he decided to play lacrosse again his senior year - it cut down on the free time and allowed him to get to know some boys who I think became pretty good friends - hopefully he'll make an effort to keep those friendships going now that high school is officially over.
The good news is, high school really doesn't matter when you get to college. Everyone is back to square one and you get out of it, what you put in to it. My main objective this summer is to stress upon Aaron that you want to put a lot of effort into your college days. Get to know your classmates, your professors, make good friendships and good decisions - the next four years can be the among the best four years of Aaron's life if he takes the proper approach.
So we close the book on our days at Moeller High School. It's been an interesting 6 years. Our boys are now among the Men of Moeller; a fraternity that is taken very seriously by many of its members. Time will tell how seriously Judd and Aaron will take it. Right now I know Aaron is just glad that his time there is over. Now it's on to 4 more years at, quite frankly, a more important place. My hope is that over the next four years Aaron will experience a new awakening and have an experience that he'll look back on and smile about all the great times he had. He owes it to himself to do do this!
High school is a wierd time for kids. I know I look back on my years of high school and realize I really didn't learn much. I went to an urban high school in Dayton called Colonel White and the teachers there were happy if they could simply keep the students under control. It just wasn't a very good learning environment. I got good grades but I don't think it was because I was exceptionally smart - all you had to do was pay attention in class and you couldn't help but pass. I do know my high school years did little to prepare me for college - it took me the better part of my freshman year to figure things out. Today, I can honestly say I haven't seen a former class mate from CW in about 15 years. I simply lost touch. I've recently reconnected with a few old classmates via Face Book, of all places, but I doubt it will rekindle any old friendships as they mostly live in different states.
Julie, on the other hand, still considers a group of her high school classmates among her closest and dearest friends. They still together from time to time, they talk on the phone, they have girls' night out several times a year. They take the effort to stay in touch. My best friend in high school was a guy by the name of Darryl France. He was a funny guy, we were both on the football team, in the senior play together - his brother Doug (or Bubba) actually played football for Ohio State and made All Pro as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. Darryl went to play football for Wilmington College; as many of you know, I went to Ohio State. I remember hooking up with Darryl the summer between our freshman and sophomore years of college and I haven't seen him since - I couldn't even tell you where he lives.
But back to Moeller. I think Aaron could have had a better experience there. I think he stayed true to his grade school friends but didn't reach out to hang out with other kids, as a consequence he had a very small circle of friends. He decided not to play lacrosse his junior year and that left him with far to much extra time on his hands. And I think the thing that Moeller sells as a reason to attend the school actually turned out to be a negative for Aaron - the lap top program. Aaron was basically addicted to his lap top! The problem was, he used it for everything but his school work - videos, youtube, watching highlights of the Lakers, music - I think for some kids a lap top is a great, for Aaron it was a distraction. We were really glad he decided to play lacrosse again his senior year - it cut down on the free time and allowed him to get to know some boys who I think became pretty good friends - hopefully he'll make an effort to keep those friendships going now that high school is officially over.
The good news is, high school really doesn't matter when you get to college. Everyone is back to square one and you get out of it, what you put in to it. My main objective this summer is to stress upon Aaron that you want to put a lot of effort into your college days. Get to know your classmates, your professors, make good friendships and good decisions - the next four years can be the among the best four years of Aaron's life if he takes the proper approach.
So we close the book on our days at Moeller High School. It's been an interesting 6 years. Our boys are now among the Men of Moeller; a fraternity that is taken very seriously by many of its members. Time will tell how seriously Judd and Aaron will take it. Right now I know Aaron is just glad that his time there is over. Now it's on to 4 more years at, quite frankly, a more important place. My hope is that over the next four years Aaron will experience a new awakening and have an experience that he'll look back on and smile about all the great times he had. He owes it to himself to do do this!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Beadpan Banter...
This Friday the book, Beadpan Banter, will make its premiere in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The premiere event will be held at the local K 0f C, tickets are $5 a pop and dinner is included (nothing fancy; your standard picnic fare of hot dogs, burgers and brats). The author of the book, Brenda Elsagher, will be on hand to sign copies and proceeds from the evening will benefit local charities.
Why does all this really matter? Well, about a year ago my sister, Aimee, met Brenda while she was attending a conference at the University of Dayton. They talked for a while and Brenda mentioned she was in the process of putting together a book about people who had faced serious medical conditions. Aimee told Brenda about my battle with lymphoma; Brenda suggested I submit my story, Aimee told me about Brenda, after exchanging several e-mails I submitted my story and last November I was notified that my story would indeed be in the book. So on Friday my story, along with 109 others, will hit the bookstands. I'm sure Bedpan Banter is destined to top the New York Times' top 100 list in the very near future.
I was invited to the premiere and asked personally by Brenda to sit at the head table with her, (afterall - someone might want me to sign the book as well), but unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it. I am, however, looking forward to receiving my royalties for the effort which includes an actual bed pan, a check for $25 and a signed copy of the book. I can also purchase extra copies, at a reduced cost, in the event I'd like to pass them out to all my fans. I understand John Grisham and Stephen King do this from time to time.
Seriously, I'm honored that Brenda selected my story to be in her book. She was looking for humorous or inspirational medical stories and I decided to take the inspirational route and talk about not only my battle, but also Julie's moms' battle with lung cancer. I do hope the book finds a following because proceeds will benefit several charities in the Minneapolis area. Brenda is actually a survivior of colorectal cancer and she must be very active philanthropically up in Minnesota. Here is a link to her website if you'd like to read more about her.
http://www.livingandlaughing.com/HTML/about.cfm
So, I'm just days away from scratching 'be a PAID, published author' off my 'bucket list'. I consider it quite an accomplishment. I look forward to sharing my autographed copy with everyone - I just hope I don't get writers cramp from signing countless copies of this Pulitzer worthy publication. Thanks to Brenda for making this dream come true!
Why does all this really matter? Well, about a year ago my sister, Aimee, met Brenda while she was attending a conference at the University of Dayton. They talked for a while and Brenda mentioned she was in the process of putting together a book about people who had faced serious medical conditions. Aimee told Brenda about my battle with lymphoma; Brenda suggested I submit my story, Aimee told me about Brenda, after exchanging several e-mails I submitted my story and last November I was notified that my story would indeed be in the book. So on Friday my story, along with 109 others, will hit the bookstands. I'm sure Bedpan Banter is destined to top the New York Times' top 100 list in the very near future.
I was invited to the premiere and asked personally by Brenda to sit at the head table with her, (afterall - someone might want me to sign the book as well), but unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it. I am, however, looking forward to receiving my royalties for the effort which includes an actual bed pan, a check for $25 and a signed copy of the book. I can also purchase extra copies, at a reduced cost, in the event I'd like to pass them out to all my fans. I understand John Grisham and Stephen King do this from time to time.
Seriously, I'm honored that Brenda selected my story to be in her book. She was looking for humorous or inspirational medical stories and I decided to take the inspirational route and talk about not only my battle, but also Julie's moms' battle with lung cancer. I do hope the book finds a following because proceeds will benefit several charities in the Minneapolis area. Brenda is actually a survivior of colorectal cancer and she must be very active philanthropically up in Minnesota. Here is a link to her website if you'd like to read more about her.
http://www.livingandlaughing.com/HTML/about.cfm
So, I'm just days away from scratching 'be a PAID, published author' off my 'bucket list'. I consider it quite an accomplishment. I look forward to sharing my autographed copy with everyone - I just hope I don't get writers cramp from signing countless copies of this Pulitzer worthy publication. Thanks to Brenda for making this dream come true!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Aaron Graduates From Moeller, 80 Mile Bike Ride and Other News....
Last night at Landmark Auditorium, Aaron joined his brother, Judd, as a graduate of Moeller High School...we now have two down and one to go! As I'm sure I've mentioned throughout the year, Aaron has had a severe case of 'senioritis' and while he assured us all along he would get the work required to graduate completed, we had our doubts at times. At any rate, we checked the diploma and it clearly states that 'Aaron Maxwell Hopkins has successfully completed the required courses for graduation fromArchbishop Moeller High School' so I guess in the the end, he was right. Aaron's lacrosse team will now be in the state tournament starting tomorrow at Indian Hill high School, with one loss his high school experience will be over. I really think the boys have a good shot at winning a few games in the tournament - they've lost a lot of close games and if they can just get over the hump in the Indian Hill game I think they might be able to gain some momentum. Aaron hasn't seen much action this year - he didn't even play lacrosse last year - but we were very happy that he decided to rejoin the team and I think he's built some friendships from lacrosse that have been very good for him. In August, he'll be heading off to college - to St. Louis University; he's going to be a Billiken! We'd really like to see him a little closer to home but St. Louis has an excellent engineering department and that's what he wants to study. I actually think he has the ability to be an engineer if he applys himself and it would be a good profession for him. I'm not looking forward to him leaving - I'll miss him so much - but I also think it will be great for him to get out on his own and grow-up a bit. So I'm hoping to really take advantage of the next several months and make sure that we spend some quality time together; hard to believe that our little boy will soon be heading off to college. I know it's going to be a sad drive home from St. Louis when we leave him behind in August.
Tomorrow is the final, long training ride for my Team in Training event in North Carolina next month. We'll be riding 80 miles tomorrow and due to Aaron's game, we'll be heading out at 6:30 am. I'm not a morning person so I'm sure I'll be a bit sluggish at the start. Hopefully we can get the ride in by noon - I'll need at least 30 minutes to get over to Indian Hill High School for the game. I feel a lot stronger this year than I did last year. I've actually lost almost 20 pounds over the last 4.5 weeks so I'm sure that's made a difference in my stamina, etc. (I know my clothes fit a lot better now!) Once I get loosened up, I'm usually able to keep my cadence at a very comfortable pace - the only hitch would be if its windy outside, it is no fun riding into a strong headwind!
It's going to be a wild summer! We have three cars, the kids all have jobs and it's going to be hectic getting everyone where they need to be. Fortunately Judd and Abbey have jobs pretty close to home; Judd's at the Kings Island Golf Course, Abbey is a life guard at The Beach. Aaron will be making 3-ways at the Skyline by River's Bend Golf Course. Hopefully they'll all get plenty of hours so they can support their expensive habits like eating out at Chipotle, going to the movies and keeping the gas tank in their car full.
I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I'll keep you posted on the exploits of the Moeller lacrosse team. And once again, congrats to our newest Moeller graduate - we love you, Aaron!!
Tomorrow is the final, long training ride for my Team in Training event in North Carolina next month. We'll be riding 80 miles tomorrow and due to Aaron's game, we'll be heading out at 6:30 am. I'm not a morning person so I'm sure I'll be a bit sluggish at the start. Hopefully we can get the ride in by noon - I'll need at least 30 minutes to get over to Indian Hill High School for the game. I feel a lot stronger this year than I did last year. I've actually lost almost 20 pounds over the last 4.5 weeks so I'm sure that's made a difference in my stamina, etc. (I know my clothes fit a lot better now!) Once I get loosened up, I'm usually able to keep my cadence at a very comfortable pace - the only hitch would be if its windy outside, it is no fun riding into a strong headwind!
It's going to be a wild summer! We have three cars, the kids all have jobs and it's going to be hectic getting everyone where they need to be. Fortunately Judd and Abbey have jobs pretty close to home; Judd's at the Kings Island Golf Course, Abbey is a life guard at The Beach. Aaron will be making 3-ways at the Skyline by River's Bend Golf Course. Hopefully they'll all get plenty of hours so they can support their expensive habits like eating out at Chipotle, going to the movies and keeping the gas tank in their car full.
I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I'll keep you posted on the exploits of the Moeller lacrosse team. And once again, congrats to our newest Moeller graduate - we love you, Aaron!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Man and Woman of the Year and what I meant to say....
Last Friday, the LLS held its annual Man and Woman of the Year event. This was my third consecutive year to chair this event and given the economic conditions we're currently dealing with, we had a pretty solid campaign raising over $203,000!! A big thanks goes out to the candidates and all the folks who supported their efforts.
As chair, I always get the opportunity to talk about why I'm involved with the LLS. I try to do this without writing things down, I like to speak from the heart. While I feel I did a pretty good job of conveying my message on Friday, there were a couple things that slipped my mind...so here is what I meant to say, in written form - from the heart....
"I'm sure we all have our reason's for being here tonight. My reasons would appear to be fairly simple. First, my wife's brother, Dan Riestenberg, lost his battle with non Hodgkins Lymphoma back in 1998. As a result, his wife (my sister-in-law) Marian Riestenberg got involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and in 2003 she asked me to be a candidate for the Man of the Year campaign. I was very proud of Marian for getting involved with the LLS so to honor her and Dan I agreed to be a candidate. I was fortunate enought to win that year and I too became very involved with the Society. Then, in 2005, I was thrown quite a curveball when I was diagnosed with a form of NHL myself called Follicular Lymphoma. So on the surface you can see my reasons for being here strike very close to home.
But if you take a closer look, there are really many other reasons why I'm here tonight. I'm here because of those wonderful families who founded the Leukemia Society back in 1949. I'm here because of the thousands and thousands of volunteers who have supported the Society for nearly 60 years. And I'm here because of the millions and millions of dollars raised through Man and Woman of the Year, Light the Night and countless Team in Training events to support crucial research efforts. Without these events and these volunteers and this Society its very possible the funds needed to develop the treatments I needed may not have been available. I'm keenly aware of the fact that I am here because so many people unselfishly gave their time, talents and treasures to support people fighting blood-related cancers.
I attended The Ohio State University and when I was there the head football coach was a man by the name of Woody Hayes. I used to go to Woody's pep rallys during football season - he would get you so fired up that you would be ready to run through a brick wall. And many times he talked about anything but football; he'd talk about the importance of education, religion and family. One night his message touched me like none other; he talked about 'paying it forward'. He said you have no idea how many people have put you in the position you are in today and it's up to you 'pay it forward' for the generations who will follow you. That's why I'm here tonight; I'm here to 'pay it forward'.
I'm a big Broadway musical fan and one of my favorite plays is 'Wicked'. There's a song at the end of the play where the two witches sing about what each of them have meant to each other and the opening line of that song, I believe, truly captures the human spirit and why we're all here tonight. It goes something like this...I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. We're all here to learn from each other, we're all here to help each other. And together we can help the LLS put an end to all blood-related cancers. I'm in this for the long run. 50% cure rates are far better than the cure rates in 1949 but it's not 100%. We can cure 90% of the children diagnosed with ALL but that means 10% of these kids losing their fight. We can't accept that. Until we can say the cure rate is 100% we have to keep holding events like this one. We have to be relentless! We need to spread the word about the work the LLS does and get more and more people involved. I truly believe we will find the cures and I can't think of a more awesome headline then opening up the Cincinnati Enquirer and seeing in big, bold type...LEUKEMIA CURED, LYMPHOMA CURED. That's a headline we'll all celebrate and what a wonderful way it will be for us to 'pay it forward'!
Peace and blessings to all!
As chair, I always get the opportunity to talk about why I'm involved with the LLS. I try to do this without writing things down, I like to speak from the heart. While I feel I did a pretty good job of conveying my message on Friday, there were a couple things that slipped my mind...so here is what I meant to say, in written form - from the heart....
"I'm sure we all have our reason's for being here tonight. My reasons would appear to be fairly simple. First, my wife's brother, Dan Riestenberg, lost his battle with non Hodgkins Lymphoma back in 1998. As a result, his wife (my sister-in-law) Marian Riestenberg got involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and in 2003 she asked me to be a candidate for the Man of the Year campaign. I was very proud of Marian for getting involved with the LLS so to honor her and Dan I agreed to be a candidate. I was fortunate enought to win that year and I too became very involved with the Society. Then, in 2005, I was thrown quite a curveball when I was diagnosed with a form of NHL myself called Follicular Lymphoma. So on the surface you can see my reasons for being here strike very close to home.
But if you take a closer look, there are really many other reasons why I'm here tonight. I'm here because of those wonderful families who founded the Leukemia Society back in 1949. I'm here because of the thousands and thousands of volunteers who have supported the Society for nearly 60 years. And I'm here because of the millions and millions of dollars raised through Man and Woman of the Year, Light the Night and countless Team in Training events to support crucial research efforts. Without these events and these volunteers and this Society its very possible the funds needed to develop the treatments I needed may not have been available. I'm keenly aware of the fact that I am here because so many people unselfishly gave their time, talents and treasures to support people fighting blood-related cancers.
I attended The Ohio State University and when I was there the head football coach was a man by the name of Woody Hayes. I used to go to Woody's pep rallys during football season - he would get you so fired up that you would be ready to run through a brick wall. And many times he talked about anything but football; he'd talk about the importance of education, religion and family. One night his message touched me like none other; he talked about 'paying it forward'. He said you have no idea how many people have put you in the position you are in today and it's up to you 'pay it forward' for the generations who will follow you. That's why I'm here tonight; I'm here to 'pay it forward'.
I'm a big Broadway musical fan and one of my favorite plays is 'Wicked'. There's a song at the end of the play where the two witches sing about what each of them have meant to each other and the opening line of that song, I believe, truly captures the human spirit and why we're all here tonight. It goes something like this...I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. We're all here to learn from each other, we're all here to help each other. And together we can help the LLS put an end to all blood-related cancers. I'm in this for the long run. 50% cure rates are far better than the cure rates in 1949 but it's not 100%. We can cure 90% of the children diagnosed with ALL but that means 10% of these kids losing their fight. We can't accept that. Until we can say the cure rate is 100% we have to keep holding events like this one. We have to be relentless! We need to spread the word about the work the LLS does and get more and more people involved. I truly believe we will find the cures and I can't think of a more awesome headline then opening up the Cincinnati Enquirer and seeing in big, bold type...LEUKEMIA CURED, LYMPHOMA CURED. That's a headline we'll all celebrate and what a wonderful way it will be for us to 'pay it forward'!
Peace and blessings to all!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Hail to the Vice President and other news....
Yesterday was the election for class officers at Mount Notre Dame High School and our very own, Abbey Hopkins, was elected to serve as junior class vice president next school year! She was treasurer this past year so she's moving up in the world. I'm not exactly sure what the office entails but she was elected by her peers so it's a very nice feather in her cap! Needless to say, Julie and I are very proud of our little vice president.
Aaron is down to the final few days of his senior year - his graduation is next Wednesday provided he gets all his overdue work in. I know we'll all be ecstatic when this school year is over - it has been quite a struggle. I don't think there has ever been a more severe case of senior-itis. Hopefully Aaron will kick things back in gear next fall as a freshman at St. Louis University - he says he will; I guess we'll see about that!
Judd came home from school on May 1st and had a pretty solid sophomore year. He was excited last night because he learned he got the highest grade out of all his classmates on his Typography final. I'm just glad that I never had to take a Typography final - I doubt I would have aced it. Next fall Judd is going to be an RA at UD which makes Julie and I very happy because it should save us about $10,000 in room and board fees. I think that's what it cost for me my entire 4 years at Ohio State!
Friday is the finals for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Man and Woman of the Year Campaign - this is the 3rd year in a row that I've been the chaiman for this event and it will be interesting to see how our candidates have done this year given the difficult stretch we've had economically. Hopefully we'll still be able to hit our budget of $204,000; I've heard that a couple candidates are dong very well so if the others can at least match the average, we should come close to the budget.
I'm also training to participate in the Fletcher Flyer Century Ride next month in North Carolina. Last week we rode 70 miles on our training ride and this weekend we'll do 75. Our team is hoping to raise close to $60,000 for the LLS and we'll be joined by numerous other Team In Training Teams from across the country when we go to North Carolina. If you'd like to read a little more about this event, just click on the link below. (There's also a nice picture of the family from my 50th birthday party back in October.)
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/fletchr09/vhopkins
I hope all is well with you and your family. Peace and blessings to all!
Aaron is down to the final few days of his senior year - his graduation is next Wednesday provided he gets all his overdue work in. I know we'll all be ecstatic when this school year is over - it has been quite a struggle. I don't think there has ever been a more severe case of senior-itis. Hopefully Aaron will kick things back in gear next fall as a freshman at St. Louis University - he says he will; I guess we'll see about that!
Judd came home from school on May 1st and had a pretty solid sophomore year. He was excited last night because he learned he got the highest grade out of all his classmates on his Typography final. I'm just glad that I never had to take a Typography final - I doubt I would have aced it. Next fall Judd is going to be an RA at UD which makes Julie and I very happy because it should save us about $10,000 in room and board fees. I think that's what it cost for me my entire 4 years at Ohio State!
Friday is the finals for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Man and Woman of the Year Campaign - this is the 3rd year in a row that I've been the chaiman for this event and it will be interesting to see how our candidates have done this year given the difficult stretch we've had economically. Hopefully we'll still be able to hit our budget of $204,000; I've heard that a couple candidates are dong very well so if the others can at least match the average, we should come close to the budget.
I'm also training to participate in the Fletcher Flyer Century Ride next month in North Carolina. Last week we rode 70 miles on our training ride and this weekend we'll do 75. Our team is hoping to raise close to $60,000 for the LLS and we'll be joined by numerous other Team In Training Teams from across the country when we go to North Carolina. If you'd like to read a little more about this event, just click on the link below. (There's also a nice picture of the family from my 50th birthday party back in October.)
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/fletchr09/vhopkins
I hope all is well with you and your family. Peace and blessings to all!
